Preaching is something that occurs in and for the community of faith. Some preachers put legs on that conviction by involving other people early in the process of sermon development. To do this, a growing number of churches are engaging in what can be called the “Oral Tradition Method” of Bible study. It is sometimes called the “African Method of Bible Study,” but it has also been used in South American base Christian communities. Whatever its origins, this is a method that, rather than emphasizing understanding the text in a critical way encourages participants discuss the heart and spirit of the text. This is one way to do it:
Have someone read the text aloud.
Invite people to name a word or phrase that feels particularly significant to them.
Have someone else read the text aloud, preferably in a different version.
Invite people to share how the passage speaks to their lives.
Read the passage aloud a third time.
Invite response to this question: How will your life change as a result of hearing this text?
The benefit to this method is clear: the preacher knows that he or she is working with a question or insight that people in the pews really have. It lends communal ownership to the whole preaching process. It doesn’t, however, substitute for the hard individual labor the pastor must do in additional preparation.
© Cliff Guthrie,
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